Dining "At the Bar"

[lacrosse_lady72]

So I can go have the pot roast and a cosmo at the bar if I want without any ADR or having to wait?

 

[sotoalf]

So yes, it is absolutely allowed for children to sit at the bar at the Tune In. And they do offer the full dining room menu at the bar. (I had chicken soup. They make an awesome spicy Bloody Mary there. I would not recommend that for the kids though)

That depends on how badly you want the kids awake during the meal!

 

[lilandvisma]

sorry...but just have to chime in here.

Perhaps its a northerner thing...but most of our local bars around here are also places to dine. I regularly take my kids to our towns best pizzeria , which also happens to be a bar....
Its cheap and has great food~

When I was a teen I used to hit the bars with my friends in between dance classes and order cherry cokes with actual cherrys We would play arcade games and pool...Yea, we thought that was cool back then. Was it the best place for a 15 year old to be? Umm looking back probably not but they did make the best cherry cokes lol. In a small town your options are pretty limited.

In MI you can be under 18 and eat and sit in a bar...but I believe you get kicked out after 9???

My 7 year old gets a kick out of sitting at the stools as we wait for our food. I cant drink(the ulcers lol) but I enjoy going. Here its like a everyone knows everyone atmosphere.

OH and they even have high chairs....

The definition of what is/isn't acceptable cannot be answered as every region is different quite obviously~

Would I take my girls into an upscale bar in NYC ? NO lol, but in the town I live in it is totally acceptable to bring the brats to a mom and pop bar that also serves food

 

[shellybaxter]

So I can go have the pot roast and a cosmo at the bar if I want without any ADR or having to wait?

If there is room at the bar - then yes - but that is a BIG if. We've been in there several times over the years and only found a seat at the bar once - and that was only one seat - DH stood behind me

 

[ntsammy5]

I love bars and I love kids - but the two don't belong together.

 

[polineedyan]

ok..here's my take.
my wife and i are both bartenders for a national chain restaurant. i would consider it finer dining. If i should happen to drop in to the restaurant with the kids, i will let them, ages 2 to 15 sit at the bar, long enought to have a shake and maybe a quick appetizer, and then we leave. because im an employee, i am not permitted to sit at the bar, so i stand behind them. i do not drink. we are there to visit/watch mom. if there are adults who so much as look interested in the bar, i insist that the children relinquish their seats. i will only allow them there if there are other open seats.
that being said..when i work, i cant stand having kids with the families. it should be a family atmosphere, but even the talk is more adult in that area.it shouldnt be, but probably is.
we would not sit at the bar of any other restaurant with our children.
in defense, i do see a lot of children at the bar. however, "a bar" and "the bar" are two different things. Kids do not belong in 'a bar..' But the newer restaurant bars are not the same animal. I will not say that the companies encourage it, but i will say that it is a much more toned down version of a bar. especially with the elimination of smoking. they do not discourage it. yes, i have kids cups at the bar. and yes, i make drinks for the kids in the restaurant. so, even if your kid is at a table, he's drinking a drink from 'the bar'
a lot of states do not allow it. im pretty sure where i am, they must be accompanied by an adult. minors are not allowed BEHIND my bar, ever. because it would be considered 'having access'..much in the same that some states have an age requirement to carry liquor.
i dont know where i stand on it. do i plan on sitting at 'the bar' with my kids at disney?no..could i?sure, because its not the wild west anymore..most of the time..

 

[robinb]

I have children and do not think it is appropriate to have them sitting at the bar. I agree there is a different culture at Disney but I still would not seat them at the bar.

We're from Wisconsin and in many ways it is like European cities where kids go to bars that serve food. I have NO problem seating my child at the bar while I sit or stand with her. IMO it's not a big deal. I am obviously in the minority here.

*snork* I just noticed that my fellow Wisconsinites, Minnesotans & Michiganders have also weighed in on this issue!

 

[magellica]

I grew up in Pennsylvania and my sister and I spent many a Saturday night, between the ages 6-16 eating at a table in the bar area of a local family restaurant, because that was better than sitting next to screaming children who couldn't behave themselves who were seated in the restaurant proper.

 

[aubriee]

We're from Wisconsin and in many ways it is like European cities where kids go to bars that serve food. I have NO problem seating my child at the bar while I sit or stand with her. IMO it's not a big deal. I am obviously in the minority here.

*snork* I just noticed that my fellow Wisconsinites, Minnesotans & Michiganders have also weighed in on this issue!

I think it's probably a regional thing. I posted earlier in this thread that I didn't think kids belonged in a bar. Yesterday I had lunch in a local Mexican restaurant that I frequent. I happened to think of this thread and asked the waitress if they had a policy on kids sitting at the bar. She actually looked at me like I had two heads and emphatically stated that no way would they allow it. It is against their rules. I work night shift, so I just asked several people that I work with and got the same response (they looked at me like I had two heads). All six said no way would they think kids would even be allowed to sit in any bar whether they served food or not. It's just not seen around here.

 

[bleeps]

In Massachusetts it is illegal for a minor to be seated at a bar. Minors can be in a bar generally, and may sit at a table, but they may not sit up at the bar itself. Seems like a reasonable law to me....

 

[CathieArms]

It's definitely a regional thing. I live in MN, but I'm *from* OK. In OK, you can't even have the kids anywhere near the bar. It's roped off and it's against the law for kids to be at the bar. No exceptions. Extend that to liquor stores; you have to be 21 to enter and they WILL card you at the liquor store door if they think you're under 21. Not even babies allowed.

In MN (and WI), kids are openly welcomed to sit at the bar. Have a chocolate shake, eat dinner, wait on mom and dad...It's just not a big deal. And, parents bring their kids to liquor stores all the time without giving it a second thought.

State laws and different codes of acceptable behavior...and they vary by region.

 

[PoohHappens]

I do not know the actual law in my area but all the liquor stores are marked must be 21 to enter. Most bar areas of restaurants, not just the bar itself, are marked must be 21 to enter bar. This was different to us though as we used to live in MN where it is not a confirmation party until the keg is tapped. (for those of you who do not know, that party is in honor of a religious right of passage for a child that is well below drinking age, and no the beer is not served to the child) At disney however I think things are different. At 50s the bar is in the waiting area. I do not think there are seperate bar tables, just the bar. Folks are also served drinks just sitting around in the waiting area, or standing, walking as the case may be.

 

[PoohHappens]

double post

 

[allshookup]

At Tune-in the adults could sit at the bar while the child sits in one of the lounge chairs right next to them. I'm thinking down at the left of the bar there are some seats right there. Just an idea if you want to save the bar seats for adults.

As far as it being illegal in Mass, I know in some towns like Woburn you can't even carry your own drink & they certainly don't allow kids at the bar, but DH & I just had drinks at apps at TGIFridays in Danvers & there were two kids sitting at the bar eating dinner. Not sure if they were breaking the law, but it was a Friday afternoon & pretty crowded with adults not being able to find seats, so I thought it was a bit rude to allow the kids to sit there & eat when there were many open booths nearby, but that's me.